The Shard Portals 1: Hidden Powers
by Avalons-Healer
Summary: Book one of countless to come. Summary inside. Series inspired by Cali Bunny's The Dharma Sequence series. Dedicated to Cali Bunny and Lightening816.
1. Textbook Arguements

**The Shard Portals #1: Hidden Powers**

**Summary:**

Matt, Jackie, and Inez are finally in college. But just as their new life in dorms with each other start out fine, Motherboard calls on them again, and Slider is the messenger. A new evil has crossed over to Cyberspace from mysterious portals created between the barrier of Virtual Reality, and Fantasy Reality. The barriers were created by the shards of a certain Sand Crystal Statue. Now, it's up to the Cybersquad to collect all Sand Crystal Shards, and put it together, closing the portals at the same time. Book one of countless to come. Inspired by Cali-Bunny's "The Dharma Sequence" series.

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_Author's Note:_

_I'm back! You might know me as the author of "The Cyberchase Choronicles" and "Cyberchase on Grouse Mountain" series. Well, I'm back with a new series for Cyberchase! It's called "The Shard Portals." The story format is a lot like the books in the "W.i.t.c.h." series, where each chapter is through a different chracter's perspective. Mainly, the five Guardians of the Veil. Sometimes it would be the enemy, other times it would be allies, such as family and unknown allies, like The Oracle. This one, it is very identcial. The first chapter will be through Inez's perspective, but narrarated in Narrarator style. You might know about the Sand Crystal Statues, if you saw "Sweet Home Alabama." You find out that Melonie and Jake found a strangely morphed glass statue made of sand. Some may call it glass, others call it crystal. But they found that in the sand, after the lightning striked when they were about three to five years old. That's basically what shards of the statue that they are looking for, to close each portal. This series was inspired by one of my most favourite books by far, "The Dharma Sequence" series by Cali-Bunny, well known for her strange yet amazing crossovers (The Power of Seven) and her unique stories of magic and science fiction (The Marinus Trilogy). So, this series is dedicated to Cali-Bunny, and also to another one of my favourite Cyberchase authors, Lightening816and I hope they'll enjoy it as much as the rest of you will!So get ready for an awesome adventure through beyond Cyberspace. Here's Chapter One: Inez's Perspective (Textbook Arguements). Until Chapter Two: Matt's Perspective (Real Trouble), see ya! Please read and review, please! ;-)_

_-CelestialTime93

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**Chapter One: Inez's Perspective (Textbook Arguements)**

"Where is it?" 19 year old freshman college student Ineza Garcia exclaimed, tossing objects from under her bunk bed, "Where is it?"

"Lookin' for this, Nezzie?" a voice asked.

Inez turned to look at one of her roommates, 21 year old junior college student Matthew Williams, a certain boy she met in the Massachusatts Library almost 10 years ago. He had scruffy orange hair, hazel eyes and wore his school uniform; a blue blazer over a white t-shirt. He wore matching pants and black shoes. The school's insignia was on the jacket.

Inez on the other hand had long brown hair, bright blue eyes and wore glasses. She wore her school uniform; a blue and white sailor suit with black loafers and white ankle high socks. She wore her hair in a long braid, and the school's insignia was on her sailor suit.

Matt held up a book that was labeled "Chemistry." It also happened to be Inez's. Matt was smiling teasingly.

"Hey!" Inez exclaimed, fuming with anger, "Give that back!"

"Make me!" Matt smiled.

"Give that back, now!" Inez growled through gritted teeth, reaching for the book which was being kept out of her reach, "Matt! I'm gonna be late for class if you don't! And don't call me Nezzie!"

"Like I care if you get to class on time!" Matt laughed.

Inez growled, then started grabbing Matt's wrigling arms to prevent him from moving the book further away from her. The two started wrestling for a while; Inez trying to reach for the Chemistry book, while Matt was trying to keep Inez away from it.

Unfourtuatly, at that moment, Matt and Inez's roommate, 21 year old junior college student Jaclyn Edwards entered with another familiar person with her. Only, he didn't go to the school.

"Give that back now!" Inez squealed angrily.

"No way!" Matt retorted.

Finally, Inez grabbed the book, and started pulling on it. But so was Matt.

"Let go! Let go!" Inez cried, straining to pull her book back.

"Make me!" Matt retorted.

"I will!" Inez exclaimed. She slammed the heel of her loafer on Matt's foot.

"YEOW!" Matt exclaimed, and began hopping on one leg,letting go ofthe book.

Inezpulled it back towards herselfand scoffed, "Ha! And you said I'm weak 'cause I'm a girl!"

"Ahem!" Jackie coughed.

The two stopped what they were doing and turned to see the two at the door.

"Jackie!" Matt exclaimed.

"And... wait. That's not right." Inez suddenly noticed who the boy was.

He had brown hair, emerald green eyes and was wearing the school uniform identical to Matt's. Only, he wasn't from the school.

Jackie on the other hand, had long black hair tied into a low ponytail, brown eyes and wore the school uniform that was identical to Inez's. She was definatly from the school.

"Meet our new roommate, you guys." Jackie smiled, "I think we all remember Slider Metropolis from 10 years ago?"

Inez definatly remembered who he was. Slider Metropolis was 13 years old when the three friends first met him. By now, he was 23 years old. He was the oldest in the group by far.

"Nice to see you again after 10 years." Matt strained, seeming to smile as much as he can, "Excuse us for a sec."

Matt led Inez out of the dorm and into the custodian's closet.

"Number one, how did Slider get here and why is he here," Matt hissed, "And number two, why in the world did you hit my foot that hard?"

"Okay, Answer Number One, I do not know." Inez replied, "And Answer Number Two, It was the only way to get your hands off of my textbook!"

"I can't help it if you want to go to school so early all the time!" Matt hissed angrily. Inez could tell. His face read 'anger' written all over it.

"Okay, so I was a bit too harsh!" Inez hissed back, admiting that she was a bit harsh against her friend, "But you deserved it!"

"So did not!" Matt retorted.

"Whatever!" Inez shot back. She glanced at her watch. It was almost 8:30am. "Great. I'm gonna be late for class. I'll see you and the other two at lunch! Or, you come with me, since we're in the same classes all semester. That is, unless you want to skip classes again."

"How'd you know about that?" Matt growled.

"The whole school knows, Matt!" Inez shot back, opening the closet's door, "If you don't like some of the classes you're taking, why did you sign up for all of them in the first place?"

"I can't help it if I had to choose all of the classes!" Matt retorted, as the two exited the custodian's closet, "My parents made me!"

"Yeah, and I chose mine freely." Inez smiled, "Jackie! Slider! We'll meet you in Period 2!"

"We'll see ya there!" Jackie called back, as the two walked away.

"Now, where were we..." Inez growled, looking at Matt angrily. Matt had a sheepish look on his face.


	2. Real Trouble

**Chapter Two: Matt's Perspective (Real Trouble)**

_Author's Note:_

_It's Matt's turn to look through the eyes of. (By the way, CelestialTime93's Top Ten List is on my profile page now) This is definatly one scene you can easily play out in your mind... together with the next chapter's scene (Jackie's Perspective: Ugly Monsters). Put some selected scenes from the next chapter together to create the perfect favourite scene! Here's Chapter Two: Matt's Perspective (Real Trouble). Pretty short, but I'll make up for it in Chapter Three: Jackie's Perspective (Ugly Monsters). Until then, see ya! Please read and review! ;-)_

_-CelestialTime93_

_P.S. Look out for my upcoming Cyberchase fanfic, "Musical Star," featuring songs by Jesse McCartney and Aly and A.J. That's coming this Fall!

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"Steady..." Inez said carefully as Matt slowly poured the liquid from the Chemistry Vial, "Steady..."

Suddenly, Inez's pager shook and beeped.

Inez and Matt stopped pouring their liquids as Inez took out her pager. "911?" Inez read out loud, "It's probably another fashion disaster from Gym Class."

Suddenly, Matt's pager also shook and beeped. Matt took it out to see the exact same message on his pager. "This message is from Slider." he said, showing the pager's message to Inez.

"Then this is bad." Inez replied.

Then, the bell rang.

The two put away their vials, packed up their lab coats and goggles, grabbed their bags and books, and ran out towards the campus hallways. They stopped halfway.

"Wait..." Inez suddenly said, "Do we even know where they are?"

"The pager didn't say." Matt replied, taking out his pager, "I'll send one to Jackie."

Matt typed in the message, "Where r u?" in his pager. Unfourtunatly, his pager only allowed enough characters to fit into the screen.

"Did you send it?" Inez asked as Matt put away his pager.

"Yep." Matt replied. Then, after a few seconds, his pager beeped and shook again. He took it out and read the message out loud.

"Campus Ent?" Matt read out loud dubiously, "Where in the world is Campus Ent?"

"Campus Entrance!" Inez exclaimed, "They're at the Entrance of the school campus!"

The two ran to the area, and gasped when they saw who else was with Slider and Jackie.


	3. Ugly Monsters

**Chapter Three: Jackie's Perspective (Ugly Monsters)**

_Author's Note:_

_Here's Chaper Three: Jackie's Perspective (Ugly Monsters). This chapter is a bit humorous, full of action, and secrets are revealed in the next chapter, Chapter Four: Slider's Perspective (Growing Power). Check it out! Enjoy and review please! See ya! ;-)_

_-CelestialTime93

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"I am so glad that Gym Class is over!" Jackie exclaimed of relief as she and Slider walked to the Campus Entrance to their second period.

"The Gym Teacher's pretty nasty for a teacher." Slider commented, "Almost as nasty as Hacker."

"Tsch, don't remind me." Jackie groaned.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of black lights and clouds in front of them. Soon, a monster in the shape of a mutated druid appeared infront of them.

"Gaah!" Jackie screamed, paralyzed with fear, "What in the world is that?"

"Like I'm supposed to know!" Slider replied.

Jackie was shaking with fear. She knew one thing to do. She reached in her trembling hand into her uniform's pocket and pulled out her pager. She typed in the numbers, 9-1-1. Then, she pressed send to Inez's pager. She looked up to see Slider doing the same, and sending it to Matt's pager.

The two put the pagers away, and started leading the druid away from the students, or at least until they were safe inside with the teachers.

After a while of dodging the druid's attacks, Jackie's pager rumbled and beeped. She took it out and read the message out loud. "Where are you? Where are we? We're at the Campus Entrance!" Jackie began typing in the words, "Campus Entrance," not noticing the last five letters being cut off.

"You do know that the pager only fits 10 characters?" Slider said, dodging the druid's flailing arm.

"Oh, darn!" Jackie slapped her forehead, "I forgot! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you knew!" Slider replied above the druid's growl. Both dodged another oncoming attack.

"Guys!" Matt called from the school hallway. Then, he and Inez gasped.

"Get down!" Jackie called.

Matt and Inez ducked from a flailing attack from a flurry of sharp leaves.

"Razor Leaves?" Inez wondered out loud in exclamation.

"Think so." Matt replied, "Come on! Jacs! Slider! Lead the druid to the lake!"

With Jackie and Slider leading, Matt and Inez followed, closer to the druid.

"Don't you dare!" Jackie heard Inez from behind. Then she heard her scream, and saw her scurrying further from Jackie and Slider ahead. Matt caught up with the two.

"Man, she has speed!" Jackie commented of approval.

"You can say that again." Matt replied

"Man, she has speed!" Jackie repeated.

"Not litteraly!" Matt groaned,"C'mon! We're almost - whoaaaa!"

Jackie slipped and screamed after Matt and Slider as the three slid down the grassy hill after Inez.

Finally, they landed near the giant lake by the School Campus. The druid quickly followed.

"Somebody's gotta cut that tree down before we're cut down first!" Jackie cried, shivering at her own words.

"I left my knife back in my red backpack!" Matt exclaimed, searching his pockets and school bag.

"So much for that..." Jackie mumbled. _Can't he remember to bring anything?_

"Jacs! Look out!" Inez cried.

It was too late. Jackie was already hit hard on the stomach, and was thrown into the lake by the druid.

Jackie held her breath as she flailed her arms and legs to the surface, finally reaching air.

"Guys!" Jackie choked, struggling to stay afloat, "I can't swim, remember?"

"Hold on!" Slider cried. He grabbed the largest twig he could find, and tried to reach the other end towards Jackie.

While Jackie was trying to reach for the twig, she suddenly managed to see the twig, somehow... growing. It was growing, and growing.

Suddenly, Jackie felt the water somehow push her to the surface more and more.

Finally, Jackie took grasp of the twig, and was hauled forward by her friends.

"That was too close!" Inez sighed of relief as the four friends began breathing hard from the pulling.

"Way too close for me!" Jackie choked, coughing up water out of her mouth, "I almost got killed!"

"And we're gonna all get killed, if we don't do something about the druid!" Slider exclaimed, as the druid was ready to knock all four of them out cold at once.

"Slider! Hand me the twig!" Matt said. Slider handed the twig to Matt.

Matt stood up and charged towards the raging druid.

"Take this!" Matt cried, slashing the druid with the twig. The end of the twig left a burn mark on the druid, forcing it to scream in agony.

"Whoa!" Matt exclaimed.

"Matt!" Jackie exclaimed, noticing what was at the end of the twig, "The twig! It's on fire!"

"What?" Matt looked at the end and yelped, flailing the fiery stick into the air.

The twig landed on the druid's head, making it scream in pain even more.

"Matt!" Inez exclaimed, then tripped on a stone while she was running towards the crouching Matt. She tumbled in the air, then didn't even land on the ground on her feet.

"Inez!" Jackie exclaimed, "You're flying!"

"I'm what?" Inez groaned, looking down. She yelped, "I hate heights..."

"Just live with it!" Jackie cried, standing up and pushing Inez towards where Matt was.

Inez tumbled in the air, and landed right next to Matt.

Slider ran towards the two, as the druid was about to topple foreward for it's final attack.

Jackie didn't even know what she was doing, when she raised her right hand in a ribbon-like motion, bringing the lake's water with it, in the same motion, and soaking the druid, and giving her friends enough time to get out of the way.

The druid tumbled and crashed into the lake, where it shrunk into a piece of drift wood. Black mist evaporated out of the drift wood, and disappeared into thin air.

_Whoa._ Jackie thought, wide eyed.


	4. Growing Power

**Chapter Four: Slider's Perspective (Growing Power)**

_Author's Note:_

_Here's Chapter Four: Slider's Perspective (Growing Power). This is where secrets are revealed, and why he's really at the school. And, the principal knows... Check it out! Please read and review! See ya later! Gotta go and water the plants! ;-)_

_-CelestialTime93

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Slider grabbed the longest twig he could find, and fell on his stomach near the lake, and reached the other end of the twig as far as he could towards Jackie, who was almost drowning in the water.

_C'mon..._ Slider thought as he gritted his teeth, struggling to make the twig go further, _Just a little more further..._

Suddenly, he felt an energy pulse in his hand, as the twig began to slowly grow, and grow. Continuisly, it grew, until Jackie got a hold of the other end.

Slider felt himself slipping off the edge, until someone grabbed his ankles. It was Matt. And Inez was holding onto Matt's hips, as all three of them hauled Jackie out of the lake's water.

When Jackie was finally hauled out, she was coughing out water.

"That was a close one..." Inez sighed with relief.

"Too close for me!" Jackie choked, coughing out more water out of her mouth, "I almost got killed!"

Slider suddenly looked up as he saw a faint shadow over casting him. It was the druid. And it didn't seem happy that Jackie was alive.

"And we're all gonna get killed, if we don't do something about the druid!" Slider exclaimed, as the druid was ready to strike an attack.

"Slider! Hand me the twig!" Matt suddenly spoke up.

Slider was confused at what a twig can help with to defeat the druid. He was about to protest, but then went against it and handed the twig to Matt.

Matt took the twig and began charging towards the druid.

"Take this!" Matt cried, slashing the druid with the twig, making it scream in agony.

But something wasn't right with the mark that the twig left behind. It was a burn mark, not a scratch mark. Then, he noticed something at the end of the twig.

"Whoa!" Matt exclaimed.

"Matt!" Jackie exclaimed, noticing the same thing, "The twig! It's on fire!"

"Huh?" Matt looked at the end of the twig, and yelped, flailing the stick into the air, and landing on the top of the druid's head, making it scream even more.

While Jackie was sidetracked by the destruction done to the druid so far, Slider and Inez noticed Matt, suddenly crouching in pain.

"Matt!" Inez exclaimed, running towards him. Slider noticed the rock that Inez was going to trip over.

Before he could warn her, Inez already tripped over it, tumbled in the air, and landed in mid-air.

"Inez!" Jackie exclaimed, "You're flying!"

"I'm what?" Inez groaned. She looked down at herself to see that she was floating in mid-air, off of the ground. She yelped, "I hate heights..."

"Just live with it!" Jackie cried, as she stood up and pushed Inez towards Matt. Inez tumbled in the air, and landed next to Matt.

Slider ran towards the two, making sure that they were alright.

"You alright, Matt?" Slider heard Inez ask Matt.

"Just a type of burning, that's all." Matt replied, straining in pain.

"A real burn, or a burn from inside?" Slider asked Matt as he joined the two.

"Inside." Matt replied.

The three didn't notice the fiery druid, ready to crouch and fall for it's final attack.

Then, a stream of water was shot at the fiery druid.

Slider, Matt, and Inez noticed, and managed to get out of the way, before the druid fell into the lake, where it shrunk into a drift wood. Black mist evaporated into thin air from the drift wood.

There was a brief silence, then Slider spoke up, "What in the world was that?"

"Beats me." Jackie replied, "But, I doubt that it's from somewhere on Earth, nor Campus."

"Maybe we should tell this to someone." Inez suggested, as she helped Matt stand up.

"Oh sure, tell the whole world if you have to!" Jackie retorted in sarcasm.

"Jacs has a point." Matt said, "Nobody believes in this stuff anymore. If we told anyone, they'd think we're crazy."

"I guess." Slider replied, "But we need to tell someone we can trust. We can't deal with this alone. After all, the students did see this druid before we destroyed it."

"They'll just think that they're eyes were playing tricks on them." Jackie replied, "We gotta find out where the rest are."

Slider bit his lower lip. If they found out the real reason why he was here, then he'd have no choice but to take them back to Cyberspace, just like what Motherboard had told him to. But, when was the right time? Was it now? The principal was the only one who knew why Slider was really here. She used to be an aid for Motherboard years ago.

But did the others know?

"Slider, is something wrong?" Inez asked, noticing Slider's expression.

"Huh?" Slider suddenly perked up, "Uh... no. No, nothing's wrong. It's just..."

"Just what?" Matt asked.

Slider sighed. He had no choice. "Guys, I have to tell you the real reason I'm here. Motherboard said that I have to lead you guys back to Cyberspace. There's something wrong going on back there. And this time, Hacker's not behind it. It's someone else. There are different gaps forming in the barrier between Cyberspace and this place called the ShadowLands. Nobody has dared to go through any of the gaps to the daring world, but it's the other way around for the demons on the other side. Dark spirits escaped from the ShadowLands and took over some of the elements in Cyberspace and Earth. Like the drift wood that turned into a druid. Any more of these, and the world's in danger."

"But what about the people here then?" Matt counteracted, "What if the demons come back here? And harm any more people at Campus, or anywhere else?"

"The demons only follow us, since we're the only ones who have magic." Slider said, "And I can't believe I said that."

"Why?" Jackie asked.

"I..." Slider replied, "Didn't even know I had magic, until that twig in my hand began to grow. Man, Motherboard wasn't lying when she said I was annointed with the powers of Earth."

"And I'm guessing Matt's annointed with the powers of Fire?" Jackie said sarcastically.

"I guess so." Slider replied, not realizing that Jackie was being sarcastic, "That explains the burn mark and the flame at the end of the twig."

"Well," Jackie said, "I did feel the water's current push me towards the surface and closer to the twig. I guess that means I'm annointed with the powers of Water."

"And the way that I tumbled in the air," Inez added, "I'm annointed with the powers of Air. Man, I hate heights! Out of all four elements, why in the world did I have to get Air?"

"Just live with it, Nezzie!" Matt teased.

"Don't call me, Nezzie!" Inez retorted, "Matthew!"

Matt rolled his eyes.

_He must really hate that name..._ Slider thought, as he and the other three walked back up the hill, and towards their next class.


	5. Back To Cyberspace

**Chapter Five: Jackie's Perspective (Back To Cyberspace)**

_Author's Note:_

_I have recieved many questions and corrections, and it's time they got answered. First up, there was someone who reviewed and said that I had too much magic stuff in my Cyberchase fanfics. That's because I had once attempted not to, but failed, in only adding magic later in the story. So, that didn't go so well. I never tried it again. Second, the same member told me that the Druids are the priests in Ireland and other areas. That, is my fault. I was so idiotic that I didn't get a chance to explain what I meant of a druid. This is the Druid that I meant: The druid that I was talking about was a made up creature, based on the name of the druids of the churches in Ireland and so forth. And here's more of an info to make it simpler. The Druid is not the full name. The full name is the "Druidupracahchia." Druid is just the nickname. So, there's the question answered! Sorry for the confusion! The term "Druidupracahchia" is just a name from a language that I made up for the series called Luminaian. The name basically means "Dark Dead Tree." That makes more sense, doesn't it? Also, the same member also asked what was the difference between Chapters three and four. That can easily be answered. If you read the novels of the W.i.t.c.h. series by Elizabeth Lenhard, you would find out that some chapters repeat themselves, through a different character's perspective. It could be a guardian, it could be the Oracle, it could even be through the enemy's perspective. Whatever, but the plot never changes, unless the main characters of that plot's minds are read through. Sometimes it happens again, other times it doesn't. I know it is very irritating, but I promised the format to be like the W.i.t.c.h. books, so I'm trying this out for myself. If this gets to be a problem, I promise, I won't do it again. So here's Chapter Five: Jackie's Perspective (Back To Cyberspace). Secrest are revealed, and the adventure begins. Until Chapter Six: Inez's Perspective (The Legend of The Sand Crystal), see ya! Please read and review! Enjoy! ;-)_

_P.S. Check out my Profile to learn about upcoming fanfics (e.g. The Greatest Love of All and Magical Stars) and see which is the top "bestseller." Also, see who made it to the Top 10 list!

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"You have all done very well in protecting us from the live creature." the principal, Proffesser Linwards congratualted the Cybersquad, "Now, I believe Slider has something to say."

The three friends turned to look at their new roommate. Jackie was confused. What was Slider hiding?

Slider just smiled and replied, "They already know, Proffesser Linwards. I told them after we defeated the Druid."

"Okay, I know I didn't say this earlier," Inez suddenly spoke up, "But I thought the Druid was a priest in Ireland."

"No, no, not that type of Druid." Slider replied, "The Druid is just a nickname. The real name is Druidupracachia. It means 'Dark Dead Tree' in a language called luminaian. The language that the people from the other side of Cyberspace use."

"That place is called Luminaria. A place where there used to be light, wherever you looked." Proffesser Linwards added, "But when the Darkness took over, Luminaria became a vast nothingness. A vast darkness. During that time, the Sand Crystal was shattered into 20 pieces. Each piece created a portal. Those portals made the demons from Luminaria..."

"Crossover to Cyberspace." Jackie realized, "Now everything makes sense! But, what it the world is the Sand Crystal?"

"Only Motherboard can answer that." Proffesser Linwards replied with a smile.

Jackie was shocked. And she was sure that Matt and Inez were also shocked. "You know about Motherboard?" Jackie exclaimed.

"I used to be an aid for her when I was a bit younger than you kids." Proffesser Linwards replied, "You will be sent back to Cyberspace today. No need to pack your bags. You will only stay there for your current mission. There are 20 missions in total. You will still be taught here at Harvard, but you will have to secretly make your way through the portals that appear on Campus, for only your eyes to see. The only thing you will need, are these."

Proffesser Linwards took out a box from her desk drawers. The wooden box had a fine finish on it with engravings of ancient letters on it. She opened it to reveal four pendants. One had glowing red lights, swirling and marbling in a glass sphere, which was held by a golden clamp, which bore on a golden chain.

The otheres were glowing lights of green, silver, and blue. Earth, Air, and Water.

"You know your elements." Proffesser Linwards smiled, "Now take the ElemenSphere that matches the colour of your element."

Jackie took the blue one, and wore it around her neck. Slider took the green one, Matt took the red one, and Inez hesitantly took the silver one. All four of them now had the ElemenSpheres around their necks.

"Good luck, Guardians of The Shards." Proffesser Linwards smiled, "You are dismissed."

"Here's the portal." Slider replied, as a swirling multi-coloured portal stood in front of them.

"On the count of three." Matt directed, "One, two, three!"

The four jumped in, hand in hand.

Jackie felt herself being being shot towards the end in high speed. Wind screamed in her ears and blew hard into her face. She held her breath and closed her eyes.

Finally, the portal spat them out on the other end, in Control Central.


	6. The Legend of The Sand Crystal

**Chapter Six: Inez's Perspective (Legend of The Sand Crystal)**

_Author's Note:_

_Hey guys! Sorry I haven't worked on this story for such a long time! My computer just recently crashed so we had to get a new one, since it didn't work anymore. All of my files were deleted along with the old computer, so I have to continue on from the stories on FanFiction. Anyway, I'm gonna tell you guys that I've thrown some Atlantis history into the series itself. If you'd like to find out more, then wait until my website is up, which will have the Atlantis Timeline up. Thanks to my supporting authors, the real Violet Parr, lightening816 (my penpal!), and XxAngel of DarknessXx. You guys are the ones that keep this story going! Thank you! And I'll see ya guys at Chapter Seven: Matt's Perspective (My Girl), featuring Phil Collin's version of "My Girl." I think we all know what's gonna happen next. I'll be putting up a website for this very soon, with original manhwa versions of the characters. I'll try to put up graphic novel excerpts up as well! ;-) I'll see ya guys later at Chapter Seven! ;-)_

_-Avalons-Healer

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Inez felt her hair being whipped past her shoulders, and her eyes stung from the windy force of the portal.

Inez never really liked portal travelling. Her guts always seemed to feel like they were turned inside out, and her stomach felt sickening. Her eyes dried up even though she wore glasses, so she was forced to close her eyes and miss the light show spectacle, and she didn't know for sure where she was heading at the end. After all, Motherboard's portals were always seemingly having surprise endings. Who knew where this one might lead? Last time, they landed in a cememtary with a ghost pirate.

Inez shivered at the old memory. First snakes, and then a ghost.

But, this one was different... way different.

Inez felt her body lurch forward almost sickeningly inside, and landed hard on her back on the familiar floor of Motherboard Control Central.

"Owww..." Inez muttered, standing up and dusting her clothes.

"Could work on your landing, Nezzie." Matt teased, as he stood up after landing gracefully on the ground like an acrobatics master. That's what you get when a boy's a sports type who decides to take on dancing lessons as well. Flexibility.

"Thanks for the tip, _Matthew._" Inez replied sasrcastically. She knew how much Matt hated being called Matthew.

"Guys, c'mon." Slider frowned.

"Stop arguing for once!" Jackie snapped.

Matt and Inez both huffed and turned our backs at each other.

"Grrrr!" Jackie growled, slapping her forhead, "The quest's hopeless if they keep this up!"

_Can't Matt have some sense in his brain for once! _Inez thought fiercely, _And stop calling me Nezzie! I don't know why he still calls me that anyway!_

To be honest, Inez really had a small crush on Matt, even if she tried to deny it, the thought would always come back to her. She had to take serious classes to take her mind off of it. But when it came to sleeping at night, sometimes she couldn't sleep. Not to mention that Matt's bunk was right below hers, so, yeah, you could say it was difficult. Really difficult.

Ah, but what about the classes with him? Sometimes she'd add to much chemicals from staring at him when he wasn't looking, or she won't pay attention to what the teacher is saying because she's looking at Matt, who's taking notes almost every second. Sometimes Inez couldn't believe how much this boy has changed from the first time they met. Matt was always the carefree kind, the kind that didn't really like school except for Math and Gym. Now, he was not only Harvard's best sports player and sports team captains, he was even one of Harvard's best students, the same ranking as Inez. He's come a long way, and Inez was proud of him. Well, that is, except for the past week. Apparently, Matt wasn't really enjoying the classes anymore, so he started skipping them. He wasn't caught until today. But, either way, he was a good student... if he could regain the trust of his teachers again. But even so, Inez was proud of Matt. But now, she also started liking him more than friendship.

"Hello?" Jackie's voice rang in Inez's ears, "Earth to Inez!"

"Huh?" Inez had been so deep in thought that she completely forgot where she was and that Jackie was even talking to her.

"Did you even hear a word Motherboard said?" Slider asked.

"She said something?" Inez frowned, ashamed of herself that she was losing focus in her college years.

"Don't worry." Matt smiled, holding a notepad and pencil, "I wrote down the notes, so everything's fine. You can catch up easily."

"Oh, um... thanks." Inez smiled back, feeling her cheeks tighten as she blushed.

"Okay..." the cybird named Digit LeBoid frowned with confusion, "First, Inez and Matt are calling each other names, and the next thing you know, Matt's being a gentleman and Inez is blushing?"

Inez gasped when she found out she was blushing. "N-no I'm not!"

"Don't try to hide it, girl." Jackie smiled, pulling on Inez's cheek so much that it hurt, "With your skin tone, pink stands out a lot."

"Ow ow! Let go!" Inez cried.

Jackie snapped Inez's cheek back, causing her cheek to burn painfully. Inez rubbed her burning cheek to subside the burning.

"So, when do we start, Motherboard?" Matt asked, grabbing Inez's wrist that was rubbing her cheek and touching it himself instead.

"Right away, if that is okay with you four." Motherboard replied, "Digit will be your guide throughout the missions."

As Motherboard spoke, Inez's heart was beating rapidly and her mind was racing. What was Matt doing?

As Matt's fingers touched Inez's burning cheek, the burning was disinigrating, along with the itchiness that she had from rubbing it too hard.

When Matt's fingers pulled away, Inez was feeling a lot more better. Too bad she could barely speak.

"Better?" Matt asked quietly, smiling softly, his face only a feet away.

Inez squeaked and nodded in reply, and watched him walk away with the others and Digit.

Inez was about to follow, until Motherboard stopped her.

"You like him, don't you?" Motherboard asked with a smile.

Inez froze and turned to face Motherboard sheepishly, "Of course I do! He's my friend!"

"You know exactly what I mean, Inez." Motherboard replied.

Inez's sheepish smile turned into a small frown as she sighed. "Is it that easy to see?"

"Judging by the way you replied Matt, I would say, yes." Motherboard answered with a smile.

Inez groaned in embarrasment, her cheeks bright red.

"He'll find out eventually you know." Motherboard warned, "So, enjoy your secrecy while you still can. I can tell you that it won't last long."

"Let's hope it's otherwise." Inez replied.

"Very well, just stay on your toes." Motherboard advised, "You never know. Now, go on. You have a mission to complete."

Inez thanked Motherboard and rushed out the door, only to bump into-

"Matt!" Inez exclaimed, "What were you doing, eavesdropping? Spying?"

"No, and no." Matt replied.

Inez sensed he was lying, but she had to believe that he really was telling the truth. Otherwise, she was gonna be really embarrassed.

Inez must've been staring at Matt as if he was telling a lie, because Matt said, "Really!"

Inez sighed, rolled her eyes, and walked to the Cybercoupe. Matt soon followed.

And they were off.

* * *

"So, Digit, what's the story of the Sand Crystal?" Inez asked, remembering what Principal Linwards said.

Digit groaned. "You really weren't listening, weren't you?"

"Afraid not." Inez replied shyly, blushing madly, remembering the reason why she didn't listen.

"Ask Matt, he wrote down notes." Digit replied, "'Cause, I'm not the best at explaining these things. Motherboard told the whole story."

Inez turned to Matt, who was flipping through his notes. "Here we go." he said, "The Sand Crystal is called the Sand Crystal because it was forged by sand when lightning struck. It actually looks like lightning made of glass or crystal, almost like a bare tree. But really, it's a lightning fork on a crystal base."

"But don't you mean the Lightning Crystal?" Inez wondered out loud, "Because, the Mayan Lightning Crystal is forged by lightning when it hits the sand, causing the sand to be somewhat mutated into a unique shape of crystal. Of course, you'd have to dig it up from where the lightning last hit. And they're usually scattered, since lightning never hits the same place twice or more. It's always different. So, don't you mean the Lightning Crystal?"

"Unfourtuantly, no." Matt replied, "Those are extremely rare, and are crafted by the ancient Mayans and Aztecs. It'll take years or decades to forge a perfect replica, even with the advanced technologies and science that we have today. And also, I doubt they're magical. And, why would a Mayan Lightning Crystal be in Luminaria in the first place? Unless they had Aztecs and Mayans there, then I doubt it. According to Motherboard, the Sand Crystal is a strange, lightning-shaped crystal, forged by sand, magic, and nature itself. It's not brown like the sand, but they were created from the particles of sand. Much like the same way we take sand and meld it all together to make glass. And if we grind them all back to powder, it becomes sand."

"Okay, but how did magic and nature work together to forge the Sand Crystal from sand and create it into a magical statue?" Inez asked, her mind racking, "Which, when broken and scattered into 20 shards, create portals in the barrier between Cyberspace and Luminaria?"

"The sand is the same thing that is made to use Portal Dust here in Cyberspace." Matt replied, "Luminaria has the same technology as Cyberspace, only some are more advanced and still uses some traditional remedies and science. Almost like the Atlantians from the Lost Empire of Atlantis."

"They created electricity before Benjamin Franklin in the 1700s." Inez reasoned, finally making sense of things.

"Yeah, but what does Atlantis have to do with-" Matt cut off, as Inez saw the realization on his face, "Didge! When did the Luminarians create electricity?"

"Millions of years ago" Digit replied, "Sometime before 100,000BC in Earth time."

"That's the exact same time when the Heart of Atlantis landed on the City of Atlantis itself." Inez exclaimed, "The same time they created electricity. When did they lose to the ShadowLands, Digit?"

"6586BC." Digit replied.

"The same year that both Princess Kidagakash was born, and the same year that Atlantis sunk into the depths of the ocean, while other parts of the city were destroyed by the Big Wave." Matt exclaimed.

"I get it!" Inez exclaimed, "Luminara is a modern version of Atlantis and the Mayans put together!"


End file.
